Hello there, I am in the process of buying a new house and the house has exposed ceiling beams all throughout the whole house. I really like the look of the beams but my only problem is they are painted an really ugly redish wood color that looks fake. My question is how can I redo them or repaint them. I would like the original wood color but am thinking the only way I can get this back if to sand down every inch of every beam? Am I going to be better off just painting the whole ceiling and beams? Thanks in advance for any help...
C. J.

Well, about the only way to remove the paint on the beams is just what you're thinking... scrape it off with a heat gun, or use paint stripper to dissolve the old paint. Either way is a lot of work, and a lot of mess.

If I wuz you, I'd take a picture down to an interior designer and see what colour(s) they can come up with to paint the spaces between the beams that will go really well with the existing colour of the beams.

Would you consider refacing the original beams with a laminate cover or even a thin veneer? You can take your favorite wood ripped in thin pieces of about 1/4" even 1/2" thick and cover the existing exposed beams leaving you with the feel and experience of a nice fresh, new exposed beam. Plus you get to decide what type and look of beam you want like cedar, pine, maple.....

I have the same type of house with the same problem in some of the bedrooms. They painted the beams solid white. I'll probably just leave them or paint them a color that resembles wood. Im just lucky its only been done in 2 bedrooms. GL.

Striping the paint off would be no fun at all. You'ld be cursing yourself for starting it one hour into the job. You might want to see how much it would cost for someone else to do it. It would be a nice look though. The builder of our house use an engineered beam and drywalled over it. I'm thinking of taking ryecandy suggestion and cover it with veneer. Good Luck

Thanks bobtheblindguy for recongnizing my idea, a veneer cover is a great way to achieve a natural feel for many applications... I am supprised that I haven't heard more discussion about it. Its an easy and practical solution to many difficult jobs.